His Faith
by Ardikani4
Summary: Her voice was always there to reassure him, to remind him that she was there, that she would always be there, and that he was never alone. After everything they had been through, she was, and always would be, his Faith.
1. No Answer

"Faith!"

She wasn't answering him. She never, _never,_ didn't answer him. Her voice was always there to reassure him, to remind him that she was there, that she would always be there, and that he was never alone.

"FAITH!" He tore through the warehouse, blue-gray eyes wide and wild and frantic with fear as he searched for her. She wasn't answering him. She always, _always,_ answered him.

"FAITH! Please!" He begged, not caring how terrified he sounded as he raced between aisles and leaped over boxes, desperate to find her.

They had been through so much together, as 55 David. Bosco and Faith had always been an unlikely pair, a team unlike anything the 55th Precinct had ever seen. A nearly perfect combination of fire and ice, they were. Bosco was the fire, Faith was the ice. His fierce temper and sometimes overwhelming need to be 'the' hero was balanced by Faith's calm demeanor and caring nature. Yin and Yang, they were. Dark and light. Fire and ice. That was just…them.

"FAITH!" His scream echoed back at him, magnifying his desperation ten-fold as he stumbled and nearly fell. Regaining his balance with athletic precision, Bosco stopped and looked back, wondering what had tripped him. His breath caught in his throat when he realized what it was.

Taking a few rapid steps back, he dropped to a crouch and touched his fingers to the floor, feeling a chill run through him when his fingers came back wet. Sticky. Covered in bright red blood. Blood that was still…warm.

Bosco snapped his head up, blue-gray eyes searching until he found what he was looking for. Springing back to his feet, he raced up an aisle, his eyes locked on the floor as he followed drop after drop after drop of blood. It wasn't the blood of the perps; it couldn't be. They were both outside, dead as doornails. Bosco had been searching the perimeter when he heard the gunfire. He had come back in time to see both of them running towards him, firing back towards the building…and his partner. He dropped both of them before they knew what happened.

"Faith? Faith!" He bellowed again, nearly falling on his face as he slid around a corner. He took two steps then froze with shock when his brain finally registered what he was looking at. His heart stopped at that moment; he was sure of it. He couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Finally a combination of training and adrenalin snapped him out of it, and he was at her side a moment later.

"55 David to Central, 10-13, shots fired. Officer down. I repeat, officer down. I need a bus here, NOW!" Bosco's eyes filmed over with grief as he pulled the limp form of Faith Yokas into his arms. Letting his eyes scan over his surroundings, he could tell that his partner hadn't even seen it coming. Hell, he hadn't.

The call was routine, as routine as it gets. Perimeter alarm for the warehouse. No big deal. They never were. Bosco and Faith had split up to check the perimeter, trying to make it go faster so they could get on with taking care of the other calls holding for their district. She had found an open door, had called back to him to let him know she was going in. He had thought nothing of it, telling her he'd finish with the perimeter then he'd be there to help. Less than a minute later, the shooting started.

"55 David, 55 Charlie on scene. Where are you?" Sully and Ty. _Thank the gods._

"Inside, Charlie. Back right corner, near the west door." Bosco barely heard Ty's reply as his focus went back to Faith. He could hear the wailing of sirens filling the air, drawing nearer by the second as rapid footfalls echoed in the silent warehouse.

"Bosco!" Sully's rough voice echoed through the structure, nearly making Bosco wince at the intensity in the old beat cop's voice.

"Back here, Sully!" He called, and the two officers rounded a corner at a jog, turning into a dead-sprint when they saw Faith and Bosco. Ty slid down at Bosco's side, grabbing Faith's feet before getting up as Bosco supported her upper body. Moving in tandem, they swiftly moved Faith through the aisles, Sully on the radio as they hurried to get their comrade out of the building.

Bursting outside, Bosco cringed as the screaming sirens of the two ambulances barreling towards them assaulted his ears. Sully waved at them frantically as Ty and Bosco kept moving, Bosco still speaking to Faith in a desperate attempt to get some sort of reaction from the wounded female officer.

The ambulances came to a rubber-burning halt, and Doc, Carlos, Kim, and Bobby were out and running towards them a moment later. Ty and Bosco kept moving until they met their paramedic counterparts, depositing the injured officer on the stretcher as gently as they could. Questions were asked and medical jargon ripped back and forth between them, then the stretcher was being pushed towards Doc's bus.

Bosco was right at their side, holding Faith's hand as the noise faded to nothing around him. Nothing mattered to him anymore, only Faith. Everything slowed down, like he was running through mud, but he barely noticed. All he saw was Faith, her pale face, the blood that kept leaking from…hell. He couldn't even tell where.

Slowly he raised his gaze to the paramedics. He looked at Doc, could see the black medic shouting at his Filipino counterpart and could see Carlos yelling back as he leaped into the driver's seat, but he heard nothing. Doc seemed to turn, so slowly, to look back at Faith as he shined a penlight in her eyes, speaking to her, but the words never reached Bosco.

His body rocked from side to side as Carlos hit the gas, heading for the hospital like a bat out of hell, but it was all a blur to him. He reached his other hand to grasp onto Faith's, lowering his head as he brought her hand to his forehead, then he rested it there. The flashing lights reflecting through the windows faded as the world bleached to white around him, and Bosco knew nothing more.

_Please…just let her be okay…_

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**A/N: Oh the JOYS of utter boredom...and a Third Watch spree...unfortunately I only have the first two seasons available to me. Le sigh.**

**Oh well. This story was yet another plot bunny inspired burst of madness. I can't focus on any of my stories lately. Damn. Anywho...I really, really want them to release the other seasons of Third Watch. That show is flipping AMAZING.**

**Judging by the rather thready plot I have in my mind, this one will only be three chapters, max. Not quite a one-shot, but not a long story either.**

**As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.**

**Until we meet again...**

**Kani**


	2. Not This Time

The ambulance reached the hospital in record time. Doc couldn't help but be impressed with Carlos and his driving; he had improved in leaps and bounds following his unfortunate incident with the pedestrian, and the pregnant woman after.

The ER team was ready; right as the ambulance came to a halt, they had the doors open and were pulling the stretcher out. A startled cry from Doc caught their attention and stopped them all.

"Bosco? BOSCO! Get another stretcher here!" The young male officer had lost consciousness, slumping against the startled paramedic as the hospital staff hurriedly brought out another stretcher. They moved quickly, gently placing Bosco on the stretcher as Doc raced ahead to catch up to Faith and give the staff her condition and vitals. Sully and Ty had just pulled into the parking area, jogging up to Carlos as he helped to escort Bosco inside.

"Is that Bosco? What happened?" Ty asked in concern as he and his partner fell in behind Carlos.

"No idea. He just passed out and fell on Doc when we got here." The Filipino paramedic replied as a team descended on Bosco and started working on him.

"Out! Get OUT! As soon as we have an idea of what's wrong with Bosco, I'll let you know." Doctor Morales was all business, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a grim line. Not one but two officers that she knew and was friendly with had just been brought into her ER, and she hated it. She felt for their police colleagues and paramedic counterparts but she had a job to do, and she'd be damned if her feelings got in the way.

Doc ripped his gloves off, stepping away from Faith as her stretcher was wheeled down the hall and towards the OR. He had done everything he could for the injured female officer; her fate was in the surgeon's hands now. He turned to face Sully and Ty, both officers staring through the glass of the examining area at a pale Bosco as Carlos was shooed out by the ER staff. Doc joined the two officers, eyeing Bosco before turning his attention to a rather shell-shocked Ty.

"What happened in there? Bosco and Yokas have been in the shit before, but this? What happened to them?" Ty shrugged almost helplessly, his dark eyes locked on Bosco as Sully quietly answered the black paramedic's query.

"Routine security alarm. This time the perps were still inside. Faith got the worst of it; she entered the building while Bosco was outside finishing with the perimeter. He reported shots fired and was heading for the door when the shooters came outside. He took them both out but didn't suffer any injuries that I saw. This, I don't understand. He shouldn't be in there." Carlos rejoined the group in time to hear Sully's words. He turned to study Bosco through the glass as well, silently wondering about the young male officer's unexpected collapse too.

"Could be stress, maybe shock. Who knows, he could have been hit and none of us noticed. Hard-headed, stubborn bastard that he is, he wouldn't have said anything if he was, especially not with Faith hurt that bad." Doc said, the tone of his voice a combination of practiced calm and grim truth. They all sat in silence as other officers from the 55th Precinct started drifting into the ER, most waiting out of the way for Sully or Ty to tell them about Faith and Bosco. The hustle and bustle of patients, nurses, doctors, and paramedics was oddly soothing to the slowly growing group as they watched Bosco receive treatment. The monotony was shattered like fine china when Fred Yokas came barreling into the ER, his expression contorted by grief and rage as he searched the area for a familiar face. Behind him were the two young Yokas children, Emily and Charlie.

"Boscorelli, where the HELL are you?" Fred bellowed, his tone that of a madman, anger and no small amount of fear mixed together as he looked for his favorite scapegoat. Sully huffed loudly, a combination of annoyance and resignation crossing his face as he turned to wave at the angry man.

"Fred, we're over here." Ty couldn't help but cringe as the man's eyes locked on his partner, then he stalked towards them.

"You might regret doing that, Sully." Ty whispered as Fred reached them, his eyes darting back and forth between them as Emily and Charlie hurried after their father.

"Sullivan, where is he? Where is the worthless son of a bitch? I'll kill him for this." Fred seethed, and Ty, Sully, Carlos, and Doc wordlessly exchanged pointed looks with each other before Sully pointed at Bosco through the glass.

"Bosco's in there but Faith's upstairs. I'm sure you'll want to be there when they have some news." The big old beat cop said diplomatically, and Fred glared at Bosco angrily.

"Stupid bastard deserves to be in there. She dies, and he will too." Fred snarled before heading for the elevator. To the surprise of those present, Emily and Charlie stayed with them. The little girl reached for Sullivan, tugging his hand to get his attention.

"Mister Sullivan? Where's my mom?" A look of sorrow crossed Sully's face, then he knelt before the girl, taking her hands in his as he smiled at her sadly.

"She's upstairs. The doctors will take good care of her. I promise." She sniffled, wiping at her nose before her eyes brightened marginally.

"What about Uncle Bosco? Is he here?" Sully nodded, gently picking the girl up and rising to his feet. He pointed at the unconscious officer, drawing Emily's gaze to him as the doctors finished and left Bosco in peace. Morales walked out, looking at the group as they all turned to face her expectantly.

"He's fine. No injuries that we could find. Once he wakes up, we'll do a couple tests on him, and if he comes back clean he can go home. You guys can go in now." With that, she walked away, and all eyes turned to Emily when the little girl spoke.

"Can I go see Uncle Bosco, Mister Sullivan? Please?" Sully couldn't help but smile at her, and he nodded before carrying her into the room. Ty followed quietly, reaching out a hand to Charlie in silent encouragement. The boy grabbed on immediately, pressing himself to the officer's leg as Ty gently led him up to Bosco's bed.

Sully was startled slightly when Emily started wriggling in his arms. He lowered her enough that her feet touched Bosco's bed, and a second later, she was out of his arms and curled into Bosco's side. The old cop's eyes widened in surprise at the girl's action, then a slight movement caught his attention. He looked down in time to see Bosco's arm move enough so that he was almost cradling Emily protectively. In spite of himself, Sully felt tears gathering at the back of his eyes. Even unconscious, Bosco seemed aware of his partner's daughter, and he protected her.

Ty felt a small tug on his hand and he looked down to find Charlie staring into his eyes imploringly. Without a word, the young officer scooped the boy up before depositing him carefully on the bed. The boy crawled carefully over Bosco to nestle himself into the cop's other side, and Sully felt his gaze soften at the scene in front of him. Bosco lay motionless with Faith's two kids curled against him, both of their heads resting on his chest as they fell peacefully asleep.

"Now that is something I thought I would never see." Doc said quietly when Sully and Ty retreated from the room. Carlos was chuckling softly to himself, thinking ahead to the days of endless blackmail that Bosco would suffer for this moment. A moment later, Sully spoke, and Carlos jolted in surprise. The old beat cop had read his mind.

"No, Carlos. No blackmail. Bosco is a loud-mouthed temperamental bigot, but he loves Faith's kids and they love him. And right now, they need him. He is the strongest tie to their mother that they have, because Bosco understands Faith in a way that Fred never can. Bosco is with her, day in and day out, protecting her. He is a big reason that she comes home safely every night, and they know it. Bosco…he brings those kids great comfort. Especially right now." The paramedics and the officers all stared through the glass silently, then Doc spoke, his voice quiet and sad as he spoke the words that none of them wanted to say.

"He couldn't protect her, not this time. Not this time."

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**A/N: To my reviewer Boscorelli, hello there, and thanks for the review! ^.^ Next installment here. Have to admit, not entirely sure where I'm going with this little tale. Guess that's half the fun of being a writer; you just follow the muse wherever it leads.**

**Thanks for reading! :)**

**As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take whatever you care to dispense.**

**Until we meet again...**

**Kani**


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